Readers Guide: Former slave become modiste in ‘Mrs. Lincoln’s Dressmaker’

Friday

Feb 22, 2013 at 10:45 AMFeb 22, 2013 at 10:47 AM

In his latest book, former Vice President Al Gore explores what he sees are the “six drivers of global change.” These include economic globalization, the digital revolution, loss of natural resources, climate change, technological advances in the life sciences, and a shift in the global balance of power. He dissects the opportunities, as well as the dangers in each, and adds his own thoughts on our government's seeming current state of paralysis, as he looks to “The Future” (303.400).

by Susie Stooksbury

In his latest book, former Vice President Al Gore explores what he sees are the “six drivers of global change.” These include economic globalization, the digital revolution, loss of natural resources, climate change, technological advances in the life sciences, and a shift in the global balance of power. He dissects the opportunities, as well as the dangers in each, and adds his own thoughts on our government's seeming current state of paralysis, as he looks to “The Future” (303.400).

Popular novelist Jennifer Chiaverini has based her latest book on the life of Elizabeth Keckley, the former slave who became “Mrs. Lincoln's Dressmaker.” By the time Lizzie set up her business in Washington, she had bought her freedom, and her son's, through her talent for sewing. Much in demand by the prominent ladies of D.C. society, she accepted the position of modiste to Mary Lincoln as the Civil War broke out and became an integral and trusted member of the Lincoln White House.

The mother-and-son writing team known as Charles Todd are finally coming into their own with a new entry in their Ian Rutledge series. An inspector with Scotland Yard and a gifted investigator, Rutledge spent World War I in the trenches of France. He carries the burden of those years as he returns to work and tries to make a normal life for himself. His latest case concerns an unidentified man, the victim of a hit and run. Ian's task is to identify the victim and find the killer. As different leads take him in different directions, more unidentified bodies begin to appear. “Proof of Guilt” (M) is the title.

Four years after her mother's death from cancer, Cheryl Strayed felt helpless as her life spun out of control. Her family ties became shaky, her marriage fell apart, and the drugs she had turned to for relief only brought more trouble. Fascinated by a book on the Pacific Crest Trail she had seen in an outdoor store, she determined to make that hike — all the way from Mexico to Canada — despite her lack of experience and poor physical condition. “Wild” (917.940) is her memoir of the three months she walked “from lost to found on the Pacific Crest Trail.”

A consummate writer, the late John Updike excelled in whatever form he chose — fiction, poetry, essays or criticism. His final volme of art critiques offers a unique experience. Each of the 15 pieces is richly illustrated by the paintings Updike is addressing. In “Always Looking: Essays on Art” (700.000), Updike is your guide as you wander together through some fabulous museum exhibits.

A promising and ambitious young painter, Claire Roth had been the center of controversy when her then lover, artist Isaac Cullion, claimed one of her works as his own. When the truth was revealed, Cullion committed suicide. Now Claire makes her living painting copies of popular works of art for a website called Reproductions.com. One day, a gallery owner offers her a deal: he will let her have a one-woman show if she will forge a Degas — one of 13 works stolen years ago from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Claire reluctantly accepts, but the more she works with the masterpiece the more convinced she becomes that it, too, is a forgery. “The Art Forger” is the latest from B.A. Shapiro.